After an absence of half a decade, maverick director Terry Gilliam returns with a spectacular fantasy tale that stands as the very definition of imagination and originality, and a fitting swan-song for the late Heath Ledger. Much like his surreal masterpiece Brazil, Gilliam’s latest outing, The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus is a jumble of ideas; an epic adventure that blends together fantastical characters, breath-taking landscapes and captivating special effects, with plenty of eccentric charm and a healthy dose of dark, Python-esque humour.
The film follows the members of a mysterious travelling theatre company whose owner, the eponymous Dr Parnassus (Christopher Plummer) peddles his ability to guide the imagination of his customers. Despite his talents, Parnassus runs into trouble after making a wager with the devil (Tom Waits), and must battle to keep possession of his daughter, Valentina (Lily Cole). Aided by his fellow performers and mysterious stranger Tony (Heath Ledger), Parnassus endeavours to seduce five human souls via the power of imagination in order to win the bet. This, however, proves to be no easy task. The devil is sly and deceitful, while seemingly charming Tony fosters secrets of his own...
For the most part, Gilliam rises to the challenge of translating such a wondrous story to the big screen. Many of the film’s set-pieces are fantastic to behold; from enormous trees that shed glass bottles instead of leaves, to hot air balloons constructed from human faces and a forest of ladders that stretch beyond the clouds. The cast too is highly impressive; Plummer excels as the world-weary eccentric Parnassus, while Tom Waits is magnificent as the suave, moustachioed devil, Mr Nick, generating charm and malevolence in equal measure.
However, it is the performance of Ledger, and of his stand-ins Johnny Depp, Colin Farrell and Jude Law, that inevitably provokes the most interest. As Tony, his last ever role, Ledger proves as engaging and versatile as ever he was, while Depp et al put in solid performances as Tony’s various transformations; a plot-twist employed by Gilliam to salvage the film following Ledger’s untimely death.
Such complexities within the narrative are possibly the film’s only downfall. While the alterations regarding Ledger’s death remain a valiant and entirely necessary effort on Gilliam’s part, other plot ambiguities and overly-elaborate scenes result in a somewhat clunky, rambling tale. Nonetheless, Gilliam-fans will recognise this trait as one of his trademarks and so will not be deterred. Indeed, with a small amount of patience, for many this could prove to be the most impressive, and enjoyable, cinematic outings of the year. 7.5/10
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